


The Emerald Taint

by VerdanaWebster20X



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: All Platonic - Freeform, Basically the three being idiots, Edd gets his powers back, Eddsworld and Crash Zoom exist in the same world, Fluff and Angst, He feels bad though, Illustrations, Jon (Only mentioned), Light Angst, Matt is smarter than people realize, Mild Language, No Romance, Other, Red Army, Red leader Tord, References to PowerEdd, Sort Of, Superpowers, Tord Redemption, Tord is still the Red Leader, post-The End
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-07-07 05:23:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15901737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerdanaWebster20X/pseuds/VerdanaWebster20X
Summary: What would happen if Edd's superpowers returned?Months after the house had been blown up, forcing the three to move into apartments Edd wakes up with a terrible migraine. After accidentally re-triggering his former superpowers the young Britt once again dons his old mask and become PowerEdd. But what does this young man do with his newly restored superpowers? - by using them as a means to screw around and have fun with his friends of course!But what happens when he realizes that his powers aren't as stable as they had been the first time?OR: Edd gets his powers back but their more volatile than they were back in Ep: PowerEdd





	1. Migraine

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I have posted a mulit-chapter story on Archive of Our Own. I have no idea when the chapter will be up. Keep in mind I have no one to edit these for me so bear with me okay? Chapter Title comes from the song Migraine by Twenty One Pilots

 

_I begin to assemble what weapons I can find_

_‘Cuz sometimes to stay alive_

_You gotta kill your MIND!_

 

  The dull thrumming of a headache gnawed restlessly in Edd’s temples while the TV continued to blare out throughout his cramped apartment. Boredom etched into his features as he tried to soothe the pounding migraine to no avail. Thoughts of his two best friends and their shared antics entered his mind and he briefly wondered what the eyeless alcoholic and ginger narcissist were up to. It had been a few weeks since they went on any interesting adventures together.

 His migraine continued to drill into his temples and letting out a faint sigh, got up and made way to his tiny kitchen.

“I need a Cola.” Maybe his sugary addiction could numb the mild pain in his head. He made a beeline to his fridge and swung open the door.

 On the top half the fridge contained a modest supply of food. The usual: like eggs, cheese, milk, etc. while the bottom was overflowing with rows upon rows of red cans of cola. He scooped one of the cans from the fridge, trying to ignore the fact that the headache increased. He swiftly slammed the fridge door shut and went to crack open the pop can until he caught a tiny bit of movement in the corner of his eye.

 

Meanwhile…

 

 Matt gazed lovingly at the framed picture before him. It was his latest addition to his portfolio he had dedicated to a very _dashing_ young ginger. He readjusted the frame, wanting it to be perfectly straight when suddenly he heard a slightly muffled shriek of “AHHH SPIDER!!!!” emitted from the left of his apartment. The sudden screech was quickly followed by a thundering ***BOOM!!!!*** that made Matt’s teeth rattle.

 “Thaaaat can’t be good.”

 Matt made a dash for the door into the hallway. The door in front of his apartment cracked open, Tom’s head soon peeking through with an eyebrow arched in confusion.

“What in the name of sweet Jiminy Cricket was that?” Tom inquired, expecting Matt to have an answer.

 Matt shrugged at the eyeless man’s questioning gaze, just as clueless as the former and made a gesture down the hall-where Edd’s apartment was. Tom nodded in understanding and quietly closed his door. The duo nervously crept forward to their best friend’s apartment.

 When they reached his door the only thing they could hear from the other side was the muffled drones of the TV. Tom rapped his knuckle against the plank of wood and called out.

“Edd?” No response. Tom knocked again, louder than before.

“Edd?” Something clattered to the ground and the two could make out the sound of something shifting on the other side. Patience wearing thin, Tom twisted the knob and swung the door open to be greeted by the sight of what used to be Edd’s home.

“What the-?”  Tom fumbled for words, forehead creased in confusion at what he was seeing.

 The pair’s eyes were immediately snatched by the massive hole that had taken out a part of the kitchen, revealing a beautiful- albeit unsafe view of downtown. Chunks of debris were strewn across the floor, mingled with bits of the kitchen that were unfortunate to be caught in whatever it was that caused the gaping hole in the wall. And there, sitting with his back pressed to the fridge a few feet away, was Edd- gazing wide eyed at what used to be the wall of his dining room.

 Upon spotting him, the two quickly remembered the reason WHY they came here and swiftly made way over to the green clad man.

 Matt gave Edd a confused onceover as Tom quickly asked if Edd was alright. Dust had settled into the brunette’s hair, making him appear much older despite being a young man somewhere in his twenties. Most of his front body was covered head to toe by a layer of ash-due to the explosion from earlier.

 

 “What the hell happened?” Tom finally asked.

  Edd murmured something under his breath that Matt couldn’t quite make out. A strange smile pulled at the young man’s lip as he tried to wipe the soot from his face.

 “Uh what was that?” Tom questioned, worry seeping its way into his voice.

  Edd raised his head and lowered the hand that failed to free it from grime so that the two could now get a clear look at his face. He looked positively ecstatic.

 “I have my superpowers back!” Edd squealed, eyes alight like a toddler on Christmas morning. 

 Matt’s eyebrows immediately shot up. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

 


	2. Hold Onto the Wings of The Eagles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edd catches a bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I should warn you that the story might swap between writing to a graphic novel kind of thing due to certain things I have little to no experience in writing- mainly stuff like say a "Montage Scene." Anyways I'm sorry if it bothers you or if it worsens the quality of the work but I have been under so much stress lately. School has been Hell for the past month. Regardless, I hope you enjoy-maybe I'll edit this some time in the future! (Probably not though.) Song is Hero by Nickelback.

 

 _I am so high, I can hear_ _ Heaven. _

_I am so HIGH, I can hear_ _ Heaven! _

_But Heaven, no Heaven_

Don’t Hear _**Me** ~_

***FWOOSH!!!*** Edd whooped joyfully while he whizzed through the air past a round eyed Matt. “So they just ‘came back’?” Tom piped up, ‘eyes’ trained on Edd who was busy playing with the ceiling fan that was currently powered off.

 “Yeah pretty much.” He murmured absently, attention focused more so on the spinning blades of the fan while wearing a small grin. It had been around more than half a year since he had fought with Eduardo. After that his powers disappeared, along with whatever that giant Cyclops monster thing was. Or so he thought.

  “So now what?” Matt inquired, head tilted in a child-like manner. Edd finally tore his gaze away from the fan and looked down at the two. His beaming smile had now twisted into a mischievous grin. “Oh I have some ideas.”

 As soon as those words left the brunette’s mouth he zoomed out to the direction of his bedroom. Tom and Matt stood dumbly in the living room unsure of what to do. After a few minutes of fumbling around, Edd came back carrying a cardboard box that he immediately dumped next to Matt.  

  Edd started to rummage through the box and pull out its rumpled contents with _unusual_ care. Tom and Matt scooted over to get a better look at what they could distinguish of the furled up bits of cloth. First thing that was brought out was what looked to be a faded green blanket, next was a light grey t-shirt with a green and yellow emblem, thirdly a pair of yellow rubber gloves, and lastly a green mask.

 “I didn’t know your superhero outfit had survived the blast.” Tom perked to which Edd’s Cheshire smile dropped into a sheepish grin.

 “It – uh, didn’t.” He grabbed a piece of the soft blanket and raised it high enough so the two could see singe marks on the bottom of the make-shift cape. _Oh…_

 “Seriously though, _now what?_ ” Matt repeated with a hint of impatience. Edd hummed for a second, tapping his chin in thought before his mouth split into an even wider smile than it had been moments before.

 “Wanna abuse my superpowers again?” He chirped innocently. Tom and Matt’s faces instantly broke into twin evil grins.

 “ _Yes_.”

 

\--------------------

 

 

\-------------------

 

_One montage later…_

  Edd had to use all of his willpower to suppress the shit-eating grin that was trying to form. “I mean, at least the tree managed to cushion the fall.” He received a venomous glare from Tom who returned to the maddening task of untangling his hair from the twigs, leaves, and sap that had made themselves home.

  The sight of his best friend’s state caused the darker haired man’s will to finally give out and Edd let out an undignified snort, which was quickly met by a swift punch to the shoulder. “Next time, _AIM_.” Tom chided despite the corners of his mouth beginning to twitch into a hint of a smile.

  In the corner of his eye Edd could see Matt leaning over the side of the building they were on, sapphire eyes scanning the area in search of something. Between the two he had taken less of the damage-due to being behind Tom when Edd had thrown the surfboard. A broken stick was lodged in Matt’s currently windswept hair along with a few leave. Bits of sap clung to his overcoat, jeans, and lavender hoodie. Edd’s eyes eventually fell on the ginger’s feet, which is when he noticed his right shoe was missing. If he was correct, he could recall something shooting past his head when carrying them at high speed earlier. _‘Whoops, my bad.’_

  Before Edd could move forward to apologize an ear-piercing **_*BANG*_** followed by a ** _*SCREEEEECH*_** ripped through the air, snatching his attention away to catch sight of a double decker bus tearing through the streets of London. The trio ran as close to the ledge of the roof as they could to get a better look of the situation. One of the back tires had blown out, causing the vehicle- (that was already driving above the speed limit) to veer out of control. Terrified screams and wails emanated from terrified civilians.

  The scarlet bus made a sudden and unexpected turn onto the street in front of them, shooting on a direct path to an _oddly familiar_ old woman crossing the sidewalk- who despite all the chaos, hadn’t even noticed the large red vehicle hurtling towards her.

  Edd’s heart skipped a beat as panic began to set in. Matt began to yell what began as a monotonous scream that slowly began raising pitch by the second while tearing at his hair. “HO-LY **_SHIT!!!_** THIS-IS-BAD-THIS-IS-BAD-MOVE-IT-LADY-WHAT-ARE-WE-GOING-TO-DO-AHHHHH-CRAP-CRAP-CRAP-CRAP-THIS-IS-BAD-OH-THE-HUMANITY-AHHHH-!” “EDD!” The Britt’s panicked rambles ceased (along with Matt’s soporific yelling,) and he turned to his spiky haired company.

 Tom’s ‘eyes’ had narrowed and lips were pursed in a ‘are you freaking serious’ kind of way. He had his hands pressed together in front of his chest which he then brought down to point at Edd. The eyeless man inhaled sharply through his nose before stating. “ ** _Powers_**.” The green man blinked for a moment before breathing out an, “Oh yeah.”

  In a flash, Edd zipped down the building in front of the old woman like a green bullet. The double decker bus careened and in seconds was looming over Edd. The moment of impact Edd shot forward and latched onto the grill of bus and _ever so gently_ pushed back. Edd could feel the force of the bus shoot through his arms as the bus shuttered to a halt. The rear raised itself off the ground from the sudden stop and quickly came down with a metallic ***CRASH!!!*** Edd shuddered as the adrenaline began to slow. His heart continued to thud against his ribs once he removed his hands from the grill to see a noticeable dent.    

  “Such a nice young man.” A soft, croaky voice tittered behind him. Edd snapped his neck back to look at the old woman he had just saved. The elderly woman was wrapped in a faux fur maroon overcoat and was probably two heads shorter than Edd. Her silver-white hair was tied in by hair net and made into a bun, exposing most of her wrinkly face that was framed by thick, round red glasses that magnified her eyes to twice their natural size. He had seen her around the neighbourhood a few times, though he never caught her real name.

  “Are you alright ma’am?” Edd asked the old woman staring up at him. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” She simpered. “Uh…” Edd wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. The bespectacled woman continued to behave completely oblivious to the disaster that was seconds away from occurring and kept staring at Edd blankly. Growing uncomfortable under that distant, bug-eyed gaze he turned his attention to the crowd that was beginning to form around them.

  People slowly tried to close in on Edd, forming a semi-circle around him and the bus. Voices blurred together as they all began spouting questions that Edd couldn’t quite make out. A cough suddenly began to scratch at the back of his throat. He chose to ignore the urge and watched Tom and Matt -who came down from the roof, start to worm their way through the crowd.

  “Edd, are you alright?” Both Tom and Matt asked simultaneously. “Yeah, just a little freaked.” Edd sighed. “Excuse me! Uh, excuse me!” A honeyed voice called out from beside the double decker bus. The trio turned to see a blonde middle aged woman who was carrying a microphone running towards them, followed by a man with a cap who had a film camera hoisted on his shoulder. “Ah yes, sorry! Carol Marie, from _The News_!” The woman spouted in a plummy tone, shoving the mic. in Edd’s face. _‘News reporters. How utterly convenient.’_ Edd thought dryly.

   “We are just _dying_ to know, who exactly are you?” The news reporter, Carol asked- or better put, demanded in a very pushy tone.

  The masked man’s face twisted into a crooked grin. “Oh that, _I’m_ - _!!!_ -…Uhhhhhhhhhh.” Edd’s brain immediately flat-lined. He hadn’t really thought of any real name for his alter ego. “-… _Ummmmmm_ -,” He murmured intelligently. _‘ **THINK**!’_ He urged his mind. _‘Something that hasn’t already been taken and sounds cool!’_ His thoughts screamed in agitation.

  “I’m… _PowerEdd_..?” The sound of Tom face-palming was audible enough that Edd cringed. _‘Really? Power-Edd? REALLY!?’_ Even the reporter frowned at his response for a moment, brow raised before simply shrugging it off. Carol spun on her heel to now face the crowd, a fake smile plastered on her face. “Well _PowerEdd_ , we have you to thank! If it weren’t for your _selfless_ act of heroism, many lives- including my own would lost.” Cheers rang out from the crowd. Edd felt his cheeks heat up, but smiled regardless.

  “Ah-well, it wasn’t any problem.” Edd drawled. The scratching at the back of his throat became more incessant. “Don’t be so modest, you’re a _hero_!” Carol praised. The crowd’s voices buzzed positively in response, even louder than before. The masked man coughed quietly but continued to beam. The urge had gotten stronger.

  “Let’s hear it for _PowerEdd_!!!” The crowd roared with cheers and whoops. Edd’s face burned as he felt his ego swell. “Hey uh, Edd?” Tom attempted to grab the apparent hero’s attention.

 “This is great in all but maybe try to keep this from going-,” “YUP! From now on, if troubles afoot- you can count on me!” Edd winked at the crowd, whatever sense of modesty gone. “-to your head… Oh great.” The blue hooded man groaned.

   Edd felt his throat constrict. He coughed once, which was then followed by a short bout of coughs. He should leave before it gets worse. Edd slowly lifted his feet off the ground and rose above the crowd.

  “Well it’s been fun, but I think it’s time I leave!” Edd ignored how corny he was sounding. “See ya!” And with that he disappeared in a green flash. The crowd gasped, craning their necks to see a tiny speck streaking through the sky.

  “Hey Tom?” Matt piped up, confused. Tom moved his gaze away from the distant green blur to his former housemate. “Yeah?” He responded.

  “How’re we getting back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hey Edd maybe you should be more focused on that little cough you have there. No? Okay then"  
> Sorry this took so long to come out, I'll try to post the next one sooner (No promises though!)


	3. The Pantaloon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We leave Edd basking in his accidental glory to check in on an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just watched Venom last night and it was AWESOME!!! Sorry its so short. Also- HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY EDD GOULD!!!  
> I think you can tell that most chapter titles come from lyrics or titles of other songs. Chapter title comes from Twenty One Pilots- The Pantaloon

 

 

_You are tired, you are hurt._

_A moth ate through your favorite shirt._

_And all your f r i e n d s fertilize_

_The ground you **walk** ~_

**_Lose._ ** _**Your.** **MIND!**_

 

   “Are you positive this is an exact layout of London and its subway systems?” Tord badgered, remaining skeptical. Patryck nodded in affirmation.

  “Yes sir.”

  The scarred Norwegian bobbed his head slightly in acknowledgement, attention away from his fellow solider. Two sheets of paper were spread across the desk, just barely hanging off the edges. The first one depicted the entirety of London’s surface, including: roads, highways, routes, notable buildings and landmarks, etc. The second displayed the capital’s entire underground system, along with waterways, subways, sewers, and possible entrances.

 “Good, good.” He looked over the map to find any inaccuracies. _‘There **cannot** be any mistakes, everything has to be perfect if things are going to go according to plan.’_ Tord continued to scrutinize the two maps with his one good eye. Everything seems to look fine and up to date. He began to roll up the two maps and handed them to Patryck, who took it without saying anything.

  “How has training the newer recruits been?” Tord asked Pat. The darker haired man pondered for a moment as he tucked the maps under his arm.

  “It’s been going fairly well but…” He trailed off. Patryck began to shift nervously, unsure how his boss would react. Tord arched an eyebrow, metal and flesh arm crossed against his chest.

  “I don’t believe they’d be ready to assist in the coming attack.” Pat finished. Tord remained silent for a moment. Recently Tord had begun to add more recruits to the Red Army to bolster their strength, that way he would have an easier time taking over England’s capital and seizing control. His face remained neutral before answering.

  “We have more than a month till the invasion, I’m sure they’ll have completed their training within that time frame. My veteran soldiers will be in charge and leading the main assault.” Tord calmly countered, not missing a beat. “They’re only there to make up for the fact that we can’t use my giant robot-like originally planned due to its state of disrepair.” Patryck continued to look skeptical but under Tord’s unwavering gaze decided it best to remain silent.

  “On that note,” Tord turned away from his subordinate, expression now looser than it was mere seconds ago. “Paul, how are those new bio-weapons Bing Bong has been working on?”

  “…” No response.

  “ _Paul?_ ” Tord repeated, a little louder than last time.

   “…” Still nothing.

   “ _PAUL!_ ” Tord growled, growing more irritated at the lack of response.

   “…” Really doesn’t seem to care to make any other response.

   “Oh for the love of-,” Tord twisted his neck back to glare at his _other_ right hand man. The one in question was currently propped up in his chair reading a newspaper, too engrossed in whatever menial events it spoke of to pay the red man any attention.

 Tord could feel his anger flare up and began to angrily march forwards till he reached the oblivious Frenchman. Paul still didn’t look up, oddly fascinated with whatever he was reading. Without saying a word, Tord snatched the newspaper out of Paul’s hands, rolled it up, and smack it against the back of Paul’s head. ***SMACK!*** Paul let out a hiss, flinching slightly before returning an equally annoyed glare.

  “For the last time, _pay attention_ when we’re going over plans.” Tord growled out. He began to unfurl the newspaper to see what had been so captivating.

 “What the Hell was so interesting that you couldn’t even-,” The Red Leader stopped short, eye landing on the front page.

** MASKED MAN STOPS BUS FROM KILLING ELDERLY WOMAN **

   Tord’s eye scanned the paper, confusion etched into his face. Below the headline was a rather poor photo of the back of a man dressed in a cap gripping the front of a double decker bus. The image was unfocused, so he couldn’t make out any real distinct features of the unknown man. Tord felt his chest tighten. Something about him seemed weirdly… familiar?

 The scarred man looked back at Paul, expression morphing into confusion. “The Hell is this?” He held up the article. Paul raised a thick eyebrow.

  “Apparently some loon dressed as a superhero in London saved an old woman.” Paul reputed gruffly.

  “Oh yeah, I heard about that.” Pat walked behind Tord to peek over his shoulder- not very difficult considering his superior height- to get a better look at the story in question.

 

 

   “I think he showed up-what? Two or three days ago?” Paul nodded. The two soldiers continued to gossip about what they heard. Tord continued to stare down at the photo. He could swear there was something familiar about this guy- not even just him, the outfit looked agonizingly similar to something that he just couldn’t put his finger on. An old, faded memory tugged at the back of his mind. A rushed, and crudely drawn picture that had been done in crayon that he had saw often pinned to a wall of his housemate’s room.

  _‘Edd is probably going nuts over this.’_ Tord smirked slightly at the thought of the brunette finding out that superheroes exist.

 _‘He’s been obsessed with them since I met him. I think he even drew up a_ design _for himself as one when we were kids.’_ A glint of fondness entered his eyes as he continued to look at the crappy picture, lost in his own thoughts.

  _‘I wonder what he’s doing now?’_ The small smile on his face quickly dropped at that thought _._

 _‘Either_ A.) _He’s gushing over the fact that London has its very own super hero,_ B.) _He’s irritated that he HIMSELF can’t be one. Or_ C.) _He’s too busy going on some crazy adventure with Matt and the alcoholic to really notice.’_ Tord’s frown deepened. He wondered how much of their stuff had survived the destruction of their old house. The amount of items that he ( _unintentionally_ ) burnt to cinders must’ve had plenty of drawbacks. It must’ve given them a lot of problems when suddenly moving into-

  “Boss?”

  Tord blinked back into reality. Paul and Patryck were giving him odd looks, a mixture of confusion and worry flickering in their eyes. He hadn’t realized his grip began to tear the newspaper. Tord inhaled quietly, letting his eyes slide close for a moment. _‘Right. Invasion.’_

  “It’s probably another one of London’s random and crazy events that’s last for probably a few days at max.” Tord spoke dissmisivley. He gently shoved the newspaper into Paul’s chest and turned to head to the door, back to the two.

  “I want you to check in the labs to see how the new bio-weapons are doing.” Tord clipped, sparing Paul a fleeting glance before turning away.

 All emotional ties were _severed_ the moment he stepped in his car and drove off years ago.

 No point worrying about those three idiots now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author- "You have no regrets Tord?"  
>  Tord- "Nope!"  
>  Author- "Liar."  
> Happy early Halloween!!!


	4. Cops and Robbers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edd decides to go to the bank.  
> Tom disapproves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when I said that I'd try to keep updates consistent? I lied.  
> I got inspiration from a few things here, mostly Sam Raimi's Spider-man 2, a little Superman, and one part had a bit of Gargoyles. The chapter title comes from the song Cops and Robbers-by The Hoosiers.

 

_If you catch a criminal, when you catch a criminal_

_There’s nothing we can do - but play_

**_Cops_ ** _and **Robbers** ,_

_Cops and Robbers! ~_

 

  Coughs proceeded to relentlessly plague Edd as he was once again taken over by another bout of coughing for the umpteenth time. His throat burned. What kind of bug was he coming down with?

  “ _Maybe_ you should see a doctor Edd?” Matt murmured, voice laced with worry. Edd hummed a little in response, not wanting to strain his vocal cords any more than necessary. Edd, Matt, and Tom made a turn and found themselves in the part of town that mostly consisted of businesses such as: various types of shops, bookstores, galleries, a few offices, and one lone bank that was a few blokes from where they currently were.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Edd muttered hoarsely. “I don’t want anyone else knowing I’m _PowerEdd_. Who knows how they’d even react when finding someone stuffed with enough radiation that he’d be DEAD.” Thoughts of scientists locking up and experimenting on aliens from old, classic movies he’d seen gave not so cheerful suggestions to his imagination.

  “Lucy told me a while back about some weird professor she met. Had all kinds of weird scientific stuff. Maybe he can help you?” Tom piped up. If he had pupils he’d probably be side-eyeing the brunette with concern. The latter quickly shook his head in response. To that, Matt cocked his head to the side with his face scrunched as if he were trying to recall something.

  “Who’s that?” The freckled man queried to which he earned an irate sigh from Tom. The spiky haired man pinched the bridge of his nose, preparing himself to once again remind Matt of one of the many faces he’ll continuously forget that wasn’t the ginger’s very own- regardless of dozens of interactions and long term familiarity.

  “Ya know, Lucy Rose? We’ve all known her since grade school.” Tom said which Matt returned an intelligent “Uh.”

  _‘Jesus Crist, not again.’_ Edd’s eyes began to droop, readying himself for another one-sided argument between friends. The indistinguishable drones of people were louder the further they walked.

  “Long brown hair, nice hat, dead eyes.” Tom added. Matt tapped his chin, eyes going distant as he tried to recall fuzzy memories.

  Edd straightened up a little, tilting his head back. In the noisy orchestra of sounds that rang throughout all of London he could’ve sworn he caught the faraway - but still recognizable wail of a police siren. _What could that be about?_ Tom continued his fruitless attempts at probing Matt’s spotty memory.

 “Hangs around the blonde guy whose sister _possessed_ you and Edd and tried to get you two to kill eachother,” Tom sibilated. Bluebell eyes remained blank at the cynic’s words.

**_BANG!!!_ **

**_BANG!!!_ **

   The three jumped simultaneously, flinching at the sound of gunshots ripping through the air. Edd whipped his head in the direction the shots came from. If he was correct, they originated close to where the bank was.

  Without thinking, Edd dove into the nearest alleyway. He frantically started to unzip his jacket, revealing the grey shirt underneath bearing the image of a green circle and lightning bolt.

  “ _Edd_.” Tom said, voice now in a far lower tone. The former pretending to not hear him as he fully removed his jacket, causing for the shamrock coloured cape to tumble free.

  “Don’t you dare Edd.” Tom narrowed his eyes at his now masked friend, who was in the middle of prying off his sneakers in favor for the boots he ( _somehow???_ ) had with him. Matt, who was standing further back from the two seemed to be picking up onto the situation and began to chip in his share.

  “Saving old ladies from speeding buses is one thing, but dealing with people with actual _GUNS_ is another!” The green man finally turned around to face them with a cocky –if a little oblivious smile plastered on.

  “I got my superpowers, if anything happens I’ll use them.” Edd whistled now in full costume. Tom opened his mouth to retort, but Edd decided that now was the time to cut the argument short and zoomed off.

  Buildings flew by in the corners of his vision, air whistling in his ears until he began to near the stone and marble fortress. Edd began to slow down, floating above the roof of the nearest building to make sense of what he was seeing.

  Police cars formed a makeshift barricade in a half circle in front of the bank, with over a dozen officers facing guns drawn, the rest trying to ward off the ever growing crowd of civilians gathering. Angry and scared voices chorused from the inside the building. No one seemed to notice him yet.

  Brown eyes scanned the building top to bottom, looking for a way of entrance. Upon settling on an open window. Edd crouched and took off the building at almost lighting speed, and narrowly managed to get through. Re-positioning himself he managed to land feet first, skidding a few feet into the deserted hallway until he made a slight hop to regain flight.

  _‘Hopefully no one noticed me.’_ A small prick of worry sprouted in his mind that he immediately tried to squash out as he sped by offices, following the sound of the increasingly louder voices of the robbers. In the span of less than a minute, Edd found himself looking down onto a scene straight out of a super hero comic. People dressed head to foot in black while wearing ski masks were seen packing stacks of money into bags with others herding unfortunate employees and customers to a corner, guns constantly on hand- fingers twitching at the slightest sudden movement as if ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

 Doubt once again gripped his mind as his careless grin had fallen into a much more unsure frown, warily eyeing the guns all of the robbers waved threateningly. Edd’s eyes swept the room, making a headcount of about _thirteen_ robbers-or all the ones he could see.

   His heartbeat seemed to pick up as a non-existent cold clawed at his back, before shaking his head. Taking a shaky breath, Edd forced himself to calm down, sliding his eyes shut. Radiation slowly began pumping through his veins, his body emanating heat. The soreness of his throat seemed to ebb away as an unnatural level of energy took hold of him that made him fidget. Cracking an eye open, he could see his gloved hands coated in a strange green mist.

  _“Better now than never.”_

 

\----------

 

   The supposed leader of the heist, _Simon Hoosier_ scanned the now empty vault for any money they could have missed before nodding to himself, concluding that they had scoped the bank clean of all its riches. He was about to turn around when he jumped at the sound of something crashing upstairs.

 Simon tilted his head before heaving his rifle a little higher and climbed out of the vault to find the rest of his accomplices skittering around the main lobby, guns aimed at something above his view.

  Arching a concealed brow, Simon turned around and raised his head to look at the top of the staircase. No one was there.

  A low growl crawled up his throat. “Who’s there!?!!!” Of course, there was no response. The heist leader motioned to two of his lackeys towards the staircase. The duo replied in curt nods, readjusting their rifles and started to head to the base of the stairs. The sound of offices being ransacked had re-awoken and despite it all, he couldn’t help but raise a brow in slight confusion. _‘Are they trying to get caught? It couldn’t be the Cops could it?’_

   The broken choir of knocked over chairs and desks suddenly ceased, along with any noise in the main lobby- save the sound of sirens outside. The pair of fellow robbers had just made it to the base of the staircase when without warning- what he thought to be two. _Office. Desks_ streaming down the stairs and until being unceremoniously dumped in front of the hostages/staff members and bystanders.

  Without a second thought, the thief- quickly followed by his accomplices aimed fire at the thing that had _flown_ carrying **_TWO DESKS_** and was what he could only describe as a young man dressed in some kind of _super hero_ costume(?!).

 Bullets were streaking through the air, causing the masked misfit to let out an undignified ***Eep*** \- before diving out of the way at what should be considered impossible speed. _‘Just what the Hell have I walked in on?!’_

 

\----------

 

 _‘Alright so maybe, I could’ve thought through this better.’_ Edd mused thoughtfully as he dived out of the way of a volley of bullets.

 He quickly caught himself mid dive and arched himself in a way that made him curve back up in the air. Turning, he cast his gaze on the group of thieves and sucked in a breath and dived down- rocketing forward and puffed out. Icy blasts and gusts escaped his mouth and washed over the front row of bandits.

 Cries of shock from the sudden outburst rang throughout the lobby as Edd caught himself mid-dive, seconds from crashing into the cold unforgiving marble floor. A quick glance back told him the product of his handiwork. _Seven_ of the thirteen were locked in place, thick layers of ice gripping at their bodies like the claws of an ice demon- _or_ to the ones who were the most unfortunate to face the full brunt of the attack, encased in human sized ice cubes. Edd made a slight grimace at the sight.

 “I’m sure their fine.” He muttered, more to himself than anyone else before his eyes widened at a familiar **_*Click*_** and shot off towards the upper left of the room, wincing at the sound of gunshots. Swiveling in air he caught sight of the remaining four with their guns aimed at the spot he was moments ago. An uncomfortable heat had clung to him.

 “Okay, no messing around.” The green mist from earlier curled around his fists just as the radiation filled his body. His scalp started to tingle as the unusual mist twisted and began to resemble fire. At the same time as the four had lifted their guns to fire Edd threw out his fists in their direction. Emerald beams shot down, striking the ground inches away from their feet sending them and pieces of tile flying backwards into the wall, knocking them out cold. The heat seemed to dissipate slightly as Edd breathed a small sigh.

  “ _Oi!!!_ ” A low scratchy voice called out from behind, _in the direction of the hostages_. The air around him turned cold as Edd muttered a quick curse before spinning around to see a _fourteenth_ member he hadn’t noticed earlier in front of the two desk hiding the hostages with his gun raised-

**_BANG!!!_ **

  Fear chocked out any common sense to do anything but freeze as the bullet cut through the air. Time began to stall to a stop as Edd’s eyes widened as the world around him darkened. An insatiable itch scratched behind his retinas. A sharp pain pierced the center of his forehead, reverberating through his skull and knocking him backwards, spinning in the air.

**_~~Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmyholyshitshitshithowdiditwinduplikethisohmygodimsofuckingdeado~~ _ **

 

 

 

 

 

 

  He wasn’t dead…

  Those three words played in his mind as he regained his balance. A translucent green haze entered the corners of his vision. Edd’s eyes burned, only now noticing his irregular breathing and wondering _why was everything looking so **dark** all of a sudden?_

 

 

   Edd brought a gloved hand to his forehead, met with nothing but smooth flesh and sweat. _How was that even possible?_ He tried wrapping his head around this newfound _‘invincibility?’_ that he hardly heard the last member of the robbers mutter a “What the-?” Before another * **click** * sounded out behind him followed by two more deafening **_BANGS!!!_**

  Edd’s heart missed a few beats when two more bullet crashed into his chest only to bounce off harmlessly, feeling more like to sharp jabs to the ribs. He still freaked out a little- for good reason but managed to not completely go over the edge. His eyes still stung though. Finally, he brought his eyes to face the final thief. Even with a mask on their face it was easy to picture the look of regret on their face.

  Bowing forward, the caped man shot forth and snatched the robber by a loose piece of his shirt and lifted both of them off the ground into the air before shooting back to the staircase. With his left hand holding onto the burglar he yanked the rifle out of their grip tossing it to the side. Adjusting his grip, the masked man grabbed part of the stair railing with his free hand and ripped it free from the wall. Using his elbow to hold the struggling criminal in place, he brought his hand with the piece of railing behind their back and with his now left- grabbed the end of the broken railing and bent it  till the metal was curled around the thief’s chest into a makeshift restraint. After nodding to himself in approval, Edd dumped the heist leader rather unceremoniously on the floor.

  “It’s over! You can come out now.” Edd called over his shoulder to the former hostages, now peeking out from their makeshift cover. One by one, the unlucky bank workers and bystanders began filing out from behind the desks, some glancing around nervously- as if the chaos could start back up at a moment’s notice. The stinging behind his eyes had subsided drastically with his now calming heart, but still left a dull aching that didn’t want to leave. To make matters worse, the oh so familiar itch in his throat had returned.

   “ _Ahem._ ” A small cough drew his attention to one of the former hostages. Judging by her profession appearance and demeanor, he assumed she was one of the bankers.

 “Not that I’m ungrateful for your help sir,” the bank lady spoke timidly, wringing her hands. “But how are we going to retrieve the money they stole while they’re currently-,” She tilted her head towards the frozen robbers. “Ya know?”

  “ _Oh_. Right.” Edd rubbed the back of his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed. The supposedly endless energy from earlier felt like it was fading what with the sudden panic of thinking he was about to die but he still had some juice in him.

 Striding over to the nearest human ice cube, Edd focused on the patch of ice that the criminal was gripping the bag of money. He shut his eyes for a moment, sensing the same heat from his first experience of this particular power and glared daggers at the spot sending the same green beam from earlier at the area (to a lesser, and far less dangerous degree.) The sudden heat caused the ice emanating a faint _hiss_ , melting back into its liquid form and leaving behind a free (and slightly damp) hand and bag of money.

 With a tentative hand, Edd pried the bag out of the ne’er-do-well’s twitching fingers. To his (and the bankers’) relief, the bills were left undamaged. Just to ‘double check’, Edd reached in the bag and plucked one of the bills to see that-yes it was still good, and re-sealed the bag (and pocket the bill while the banker couldn’t see.)  The cape wearing brunette turned back to the woman, handing the bag back to her who gladly took it.

  “Call the police in, I’m sure they can handle the rest.” Edd coughed slightly in what he hoped was in a casual manner. The burning itch had come back for a vengeance that it was a wonder that it had managed to not’ve been a problem during the heist. He coughed again, this time a bit louder than he liked.

  “Thank you so much for your help!” One of the other people- _‘or was it the same banker?’_ – said. He tried to wave them off.

  “It’s no problem, just being your friendly neighbourhood _PowerEdd_.” He had to say it at least once dammit. He coughed again and this time had trouble getting it under control, doubling over slightly and resting his hands on his knees.

  “Uh are you alright?” Another voice had chipped in, this time with an accent. Edd glanced up at where he presumed the voice came from spotting a man with thick eyebrows who he faintly recalled from somewhere. Then again anyone would have trouble with how badly his eyes were streaming.

  “Fine, fine. Just a little cough.” He repressed to shudder at how rough his voice had become. The man gave him an unsure look, raising one of his dark eyebrows. “Even superheroes get sick.” Edd chimed weakly. Not wanting to cause an even bigger scene, Edd made a little jump to return to the air. With a quick salute goodbye, he zipped away back upstairs and out of the building.

 The green hero scanned the grounds below till he spotted the same alley he took off from before. Without a moment’s hesitation, the brunette dived down and landed with a soft * **plop** * onto the ground next to his discarded hoodie and shoes. Not wasting a second, Edd slipped back into his civilian clothes. Stuffing the remnants of his super hero outfit away, Edd sidled up the wall to check the outside the alley.

 People were either running towards the commotion at the bank or away from it. Letting out a quiet sigh- that was soon followed by another bout of coughing, Edd pulled out his phone, punching in a few numbers as it started to dial and began to head back to where he rememebered leaving the car. It only took two rings for Tom picked up.

  “What happened? Where are you?” Edd smirked beside himself. The distant red outline of the car came to view

  “Hello to you too. I stopped the robbery, saved the day- even got some money.” Edd spieled. “I’m by the car. Where are you?”

  “At the bank,” Tom replied. Edd heard Matt’s voice somewhere in the background. “-It’s Edd, Matt. Yeah I know.” Tom muttered something that Edd couldn’t quite make out before returning to the line. “How did you get money? Did you charge them for saving them?” A hint of a chuckle entered the eyeless man’s tone. Edd pressed a hand to his chest in mock offence.

  “Of _course_ not. They... simply wanted to, - er - award me for my efforts.” He slipped a hand into his pocket and fished out his keys.

  “Uh huh. We’ll be there in a few minutes.” The line went dead and Edd was left to his own devices as he slunked into the back seat of the car. And when by own devices, it mean trying to cough out a lung. His eyes continued to carry that same aching from earlier. His head felt like it was being drilled into that hurt so bad he forced himself to lie down. By the time Tom and Matt had arrived it felt like he had swallowed a glass of nails.

  “So how was the bank robbery?” Tom casually jibbed while slinking into the passenger seat, Matt in the drivers. Edd had his palm pressed into his eye in attempts to alleviate the pain, cracked one open to send a short lived glare at the blue hooded man’s direction.

  “Well, nobody died.” The green man sat up to better face his two companions. “So that’s a bonus.” Without warning Matt jumped slightly, eyes the size as plates.

  “Who are you?!” Edd’s expression dropped into an unamused glare.

  “Seriously Matt?” Edd grumbled. “I haven’t even been gone for an hour. It’s me, Edd.” The lavender hooded man blinked, eyes narrowed in confusion.

  “Edd?”  The brunette nodded. “But you look… Different.” Edd arched a brow at this comment, glancing at Tom to share in his confusion only to find the same gaze he received from Matt.

  “Uh, Edd? You might want to look at your reflection.” Tom gestured with his thumb towards the rear-view mirror, creating more confusion within the darker haired man.

  “Um. Okay?”  Edd leaned forward a little to re-adjust the mirror, expecting to be greeted by the same dark brown eyes as usual. He peered into his reflection. His eyes widened to see a pair of acid green orbs staring back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Edd's eyes are now green. And I wonder who could that man with the eyebrows be? Tom and Matt are worried.
> 
> * On a side note, does anyone know how to do that glitch effect on font in Archive of our Own? Its the one where it looks like the words are reflected and has a bunch of black surrounding it (I'm bad at describing it)  
> I want to know how to put it into my works.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally! I got this out! I hope you enjoyed this un-edited dumpster fire! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! Illustrations are from my DA account Skywillow28022, if you want to see more of my art then go check it out.


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